“They call their budget a balanced approach,” he said. “The thing is they never balance the budget ever. In fact, they call for another trillion dollar tax hike on top of more spending.”

Ryan, of course, is famous for his own budget. He rolled out a fresh version again this week. And that’s what he focused on with his 14-minute speech at the conservative confab.

While Ryan entered to a standing ovation, he did not bring the house down the way that Rand Paul and Marco Rubio did Thursday.

He repeated his warnings of a coming debt crisis.

“The president says we’re in a recovery. I say we’re in critical care,” Ryan said. “By the end of 2023, the economy will be at a crawl…The debt will weigh down the country like an anchor.”

Ryan credited his own budget with changing “the conversation.”

“We balance the budget in 10 years without raising taxes,” he said. “The answer’s very clear: we have to fix our entitlements. We have to grow the economy…Our budget offers an end to the brinksmanship…We trim the government back to its proper size. We balance the budget.”

Ryan did not mention or allude to his role as the Republican vice presidential nominee last year. Nor did he mention Mitt Romney, who speaks later in the afternoon. He also did not talk about any controversial social issues, from immigration to gay marriage.

“A budget is more than just a list of numbers,” he said. “It’s an expression of our governing philosophy.”